Low-power-consumption audio/video recording and communication doorbell

ABSTRACT

An audio/video (A/V) recording and communication doorbell, including a camera, a speaker, a microphone, a power manager, a battery, an AC/DC rectifier, and a DC/DC converter. The doorbell is configured for connection to an external AC power source through the AC/DC rectifier and the DC/DC converter. The power manager is configured to draw power, up to a threshold power, from the AC power source and to draw supplemental power from the battery such that the power drawn from the AC power source never exceeds the threshold power. The present A/V recording and communication doorbell can thus be connected to an existing household AC power supply and an existing doorbell signaling device without causing inadvertent sounding of the signaling device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 15/459,076,filed on Mar. 15, 2017, which claims priority to provisional applicationSer. No. 62/308,746, filed on Mar. 15, 2016. The entire contents of thepriority applications are hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present embodiments relate to audio/video (AN) recording andcommunication devices, including A/V recording and communicationdoorbell systems. In particular, the present embodiments relate toimprovements in the functionality of A/V recording and communicationdevices that enhance the streaming and storing of video recorded by suchdevices.

BACKGROUND

Home safety is a concern for many homeowners and renters. Those seekingto protect or monitor their homes often wish to have video and audiocommunications with visitors, for example, those visiting an externaldoor or entryway. Audio/Video (A/V) recording and communication doorbellsystems provide this functionality, and can also aid in crime detectionand prevention. For example, audio and/or video captured by an A/Vrecording and communication doorbell can be uploaded to the cloud andrecorded on a remote server. Subsequent review of the A/V footage canaid law enforcement in capturing perpetrators of home burglaries andother crimes. Further, the presence of an A/V recording andcommunication doorbell at the entrance to a home acts as a powerfuldeterrent against would-be burglars.

SUMMARY

The various embodiments of the present low-power-consumption audio/video(A/V) recording and communication doorbell have several features, nosingle one of which is solely responsible for their desirableattributes. Without limiting the scope of the present embodiments asexpressed by the claims that follow, their more prominent features nowwill be discussed briefly. After considering this discussion, andparticularly after reading the section entitled “Detailed Description,”one will understand how the features of the present embodiments providethe advantages described herein.

One aspect of the present embodiments includes the realization that incurrent audio/video (A/V) recording and communication doorbell systemsother than the present embodiments, it is difficult if not impossible toconnect the A/V recording and communication doorbell to the existinghousehold AC power supply (may also be referred to as AC mains), becausethe A/V recording and communication doorbell draws an amount of powerfrom the AC power supply that is above the threshold necessary forcausing the signaling device to sound. The A/V recording andcommunication doorbell thus causes frequent inadvertent sounding of thesignaling device, which is not only bothersome to the home'soccupant(s), but also undermines the usefulness of the doorbell. Thepresent embodiments solve this problem by limiting the power consumptionof the A/V recording and communication doorbell to an amount that isbelow the threshold necessary for causing the signaling device to sound.The present A/V recording and communication doorbell can thus beconnected to the existing household AC power supply and the existingsignaling device without causing inadvertent sounding of the signalingdevice.

In a first aspect, a method for an audio/video (A/V) doorbell, themethod comprising drawing power from an external alternating current(AC) power source, when the power reaches a threshold power, drawingadditional power from a battery of the A/V doorbell, and continuing todraw the power from the external AC power source while drawing theadditional power from the battery of the A/V doorbell.

In an embodiment of the first aspect, the battery is a rechargeablebattery, the method further comprises using a portion of the power drawnfrom the external AC power source to charge the rechargeable battery.

In another embodiment of the first aspect, the portion of power is usedto charge the rechargeable battery when the power drawn from theexternal AC power source is below the threshold power.

In another embodiment of the first aspect, the method further comprisesdetecting that a button of the A/V doorbell is depressed, and inresponse to detecting that the button of the A/V doorbell has beendepressed, closing an electronic switch of the A/V doorbell for aduration of time, thereby causing the A/V doorbell to cease drawing thepower from the external AC power source and causing a signaling deviceto output sound.

In another embodiment of the first aspect, the method further comprises,upon an expiration of the duration of time, opening the electronicswitch of the A/V doorbell, thereby causing the A/V doorbell to continuethe drawing of the power from the external AC power source and causingthe signaling device to cease outputting sound.

In another embodiment of the first aspect, the duration of time is afirst duration of time, the method further comprises, upon theexpiration of the first duration of time, preventing the electronicswitch of the A/V doorbell from closing again until after a secondduration of time expires.

In another embodiment of the first aspect, the method further comprises,in response to detecting that the button of the A/V doorbell has beendepressed, sending a request, via a network, to conduct a call betweenthe A/V doorbell and a client device.

In another embodiment of the first aspect, the method further comprises,upon receiving a notification that the call is answered by the clientdevice during the duration of time, opening the electronic switch beforean expiration of the duration of time, thereby causing the A/V doorbellto continue the drawing of the power from the external AC power sourceand causing the signaling device to cease outputting sound.

In another embodiment of the first aspect, the method further comprisesdetecting motion proximate to the A/V doorbell, and in response to thedetecting of the motion proximate to the A/V doorbell, sending arequest, via a network, to conduct a call between the A/V doorbell and aclient device.

In another embodiment of the first aspect, the detecting that the buttonof the A/V doorbell is depressed is at a first time, the method furthercomprises upon receiving a notification that the call is answered by theclient device at a second time that is before the first time, preventingthe closing of the electronic switch of the A/V doorbell.

In a second aspect, an audio/video (A/V) doorbell is provided, the A/Vdoorbell includes a battery, and a power manager configured to: drawpower from an external alternating current (AC) power source, and whenthe power reaches a threshold power, draw additional power from thebattery, while drawing the power from the external AC power source.

In an embodiment of the second aspect, the battery is a rechargeablebattery, the power manager is configured to direct a portion of thepower drawn from the external AC power source to charge the rechargeablebattery.

In another embodiment of the second aspect, the power manager isconfigured to direct the portion of the power drawn from the external ACpower source to charge the rechargeable battery when the power drawnfrom the external AC power source is below the threshold power.

In another embodiment of the second aspect, the A/V doorbell furthercomprises a button and an electronic switch, when the button isdepressed the electronic switch is configured to close for a duration oftime, thereby causing the power manager to cease the drawing of thepower from the external AC power source and causing a signaling device,external to the A/V doorbell, to output sound.

In another embodiment of the second aspect, upon an expiration of theduration of time, the electronic switch is configured to open, therebycausing the power manager to continue the drawing of the power from theexternal AC power source and causing the signaling device to ceaseoutputting sound.

In another embodiment of the second aspect, the duration of time is afirst duration of time, upon the expiration of the first direction oftime, the electronic switch is prevented from closing again until aftera second duration of time expires.

In another embodiment of the second aspect, the A/V doorbell furthercomprises a communication module, when the button is pressed thecommunication module is configured to send a request, via a network, toconduct a call between the A/V doorbell and a client device.

In another embodiment of the second aspect, upon the communicationmodule receiving a notification that the call is answered by the clientdevice during the duration of time, the electronic switch is configuredto open before an expiration of the duration of time, thereby causingthe power manager to continue the drawing of the power from the externalAC power source and causing the signaling device to cease outputtingsound.

In another embodiment of the second aspect, the A/V doorbell furthercomprises a motion sensor and a communication module, in response to themotion sensor detecting motion proximate to the A/V doorbell, thecommunication module is configured to send a request, via a network, toconduct a call between the A/V doorbell and a client device.

In another embodiment of the second aspect, the button is depressed at afirst time, upon the communication module receiving a notification thatthe call is answered by the client device at a second time that isbefore the first time, the electronic switch is prevented from closing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The various embodiments of the present low-power-consumption audio/video(A/V) recording and communication doorbell now will be discussed indetail with an emphasis on highlighting the advantageous features. Theseembodiments depict the novel and non-obvious low-power-consumption A/Vrecording and communication doorbell shown in the accompanying drawings,which are for illustrative purposes only. These drawings include thefollowing figures, in which like numerals indicate like parts:

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating an A/V recording andcommunication doorbell system according to the present embodiments;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a process for streaming and storingA/V content from an A/V recording and communication doorbell systemaccording to various aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating an embodiment of anA/V recording and communication doorbell system according to the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of an embodiment of an A/V recordingand communication doorbell according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a rear perspective view of the A/V recording and communicationdoorbell of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a partially exploded front perspective view of the A/Vrecording and communication doorbell of FIG. 4 showing the coverremoved;

FIGS. 7, 8, and 9 are front perspective views of various internalcomponents of the A/V recording and communication doorbell of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7A is a front perspective view of another embodiment of an infrared(IR) light-emitting diode (LED) printed circuit board (PCB) according tovarious aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a right-side cross-sectional view of the A/V recording andcommunication doorbell of FIG. 4 taken through the line 9-9 in FIG. 4;

FIGS. 11-13 are rear perspective views of various internal components ofthe A/V recording and communication doorbell of FIG. 4;

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a process according to variousaspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 15 is a functional block diagram illustrating an embodiment of ashunt according to the present disclosure;

FIGS. 16 and 17 are circuit diagrams illustrating embodiments of firstand second comparator circuits, respectively, of the shunt of FIG. 15;

FIGS. 18 and 19 are waveform diagrams for the first comparator circuitof FIG. 16;

FIGS. 20 and 21 are waveform diagrams for the second comparator circuitof FIG. 17;

FIGS. 22 and 23 are flowcharts illustrating processes according tovarious aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 24 is a schematic diagram of a technique for creating intrusionzones according to various aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 25 is a functional block diagram of a client device on which thepresent embodiments may be implemented according to various aspects ofthe present disclosure; and

FIG. 26 is a functional block diagram of a general-purpose computingsystem on which the present embodiments may be implemented according tovarious aspects of present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description describes the present embodimentswith reference to the drawings. In the drawings, reference numbers labelelements of the present embodiments. These reference numbers arereproduced below in connection with the discussion of the correspondingdrawing features.

The embodiments of the present low-power-consumption audio/video (A/V)recording and communication doorbell are described below with referenceto the figures. These figures, and their written descriptions, indicatethat certain components of the apparatus are formed integrally, andcertain other components are formed as separate pieces. Those ofordinary skill in the art will appreciate that components shown anddescribed herein as being formed integrally may in alternativeembodiments be formed as separate pieces. Those of ordinary skill in theart will further appreciate that components shown and described hereinas being formed as separate pieces may in alternative embodiments beformed integrally. Further, as used herein the term integral describes asingle unitary piece.

With reference to FIG. 1, the present embodiments include an audio/video(A/V) recording and communication doorbell 100. The A/V recording andcommunication doorbell 100 is typically located near the entrance to astructure (not shown), such as a dwelling, a business, a storagefacility, etc. The A/V recording and communication doorbell 100 includesa camera 102, a microphone 104, and a speaker 106. The camera 102 maycomprise, for example, a high definition (HD) video camera, such as onecapable of capturing video images at an image display resolution of720p, or 1080p, or any other image display resolution, including imagedisplay resolutions of better than 1080p. While not shown, the A/Vrecording and communication doorbell 100 may also include other hardwareand/or components, such as a housing, one or more motion sensors (and/orother types of sensors), a button, etc. The A/V recording andcommunication doorbell 100 may further include similar componentryand/or functionality as the wireless communication doorbells describedin U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2015/0022620 (applicationSer. No. 14/499,828) and 2015/0022618 (application Ser. No. 14/334,922),both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entiretiesas if fully set forth.

With further reference to FIG. 1, the A/V recording and communicationdevice 100 communicates with a user's network 110, which may be forexample a wired and/or wireless network. If the user's network 110 iswireless, or includes a wireless component, the network 110 may be aWi-Fi network compatible with the IEEE 802.11 standard and/or otherwireless communication standard(s). The user's network 110 is connectedto another network 112, which may comprise, for example, the Internetand/or a public switched telephone network (PSTN). As described below,the A/V recording and communication doorbell 100 may communicate with auser's client device 114 via the user's network 110 and the network 112(Internet/PSTN). The user's client device 114 may comprise, for example,a mobile telephone (may also be referred to as a cellular telephone),such as a smartphone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), or anothercommunication device. The user's client device 114 comprises a display(not shown) and related components capable of displaying streamingand/or recorded video images. The user's client device 114 may alsocomprise a speaker and related components capable of broadcastingstreaming and/or recorded audio, and may also comprise a microphone. TheA/V recording and communication doorbell 100 may also communicate withone or more remote storage device(s) 116 (may be referred tointerchangeably as “cloud storage device(s)”), one or more servers 118,and/or a backend API (application programming interface) 120 via theuser's network 110 and the network 112 (Internet/PSTN). While FIG. 1illustrates the storage device 116, the server 118, and the backend API120 as components separate from the network 112, it is to be understoodthat the storage device 116, the server 118, and/or the backend API 120may be considered to be components of the network 112.

The network 112 may be any wireless network or any wired network, or acombination thereof, configured to operatively couple the abovementioned modules, devices, and systems as shown in FIG. 1. For example,the network 112 may include one or more of the following: a PSTN (publicswitched telephone network), the Internet, a local intranet, a PAN(Personal Area Network), a LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide AreaNetwork), a MAN (Metropolitan Area Network), a virtual private network(VPN), a storage area network (SAN), a frame relay connection, anAdvanced Intelligent Network (AIN) connection, a synchronous opticalnetwork (SONET) connection, a digital T1, T3, E1 or E3 line, a DigitalData Service (DDS) connection, a DSL (Digital Subscriber Line)connection, an Ethernet connection, an ISDN (Integrated Services DigitalNetwork) line, a dial-up port such as a V.90, V.34, or V.34bis analogmodem connection, a cable modem, an ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode)connection, or an FDDI (Fiber Distributed Data Interface) or CDDI(Copper Distributed Data Interface) connection. Furthermore,communications may also include links to any of a variety of wirelessnetworks, including WAP (Wireless Application Protocol), GPRS (GeneralPacket Radio Service), GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication),CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), TDMA (Time Division MultipleAccess), FDMA (Frequency Division Multiple Access), and/or OFDMA(Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access) cellular phone networks,GPS, CDPD (cellular digital packet data), RIM (Research in Motion,Limited) duplex paging network, Bluetooth radio, or an IEEE 802.11-basedradio frequency network. The network can further include or interfacewith any one or more of the following: RS-232 serial connection,IEEE-1394 (Firewire) connection, Fibre Channel connection, IrDA(infrared) port, SCSI (Small Computer Systems Interface) connection, USB(Universal Serial Bus) connection, or other wired or wireless, digitalor analog, interface or connection, mesh or Digi® networking.

According to one or more aspects of the present embodiments, when aperson (may be referred to interchangeably as “visitor”) arrives at theA/V recording and communication doorbell 100, the A/V recording andcommunication doorbell 100 detects the visitor's presence and beginscapturing video images within a field of view of the camera 102. The A/Vrecording and communication doorbell 100 may also capture audio throughthe microphone 104. The A/V recording and communication doorbell 100 maydetect the visitor's presence by detecting motion using the camera 102and/or a motion sensor, and/or by detecting that the visitor hasdepressed the button on the A/V recording and communication doorbell100.

In response to the detection of the visitor, the A/V recording andcommunication doorbell 100 sends an alert to the user's client device114 (FIG. 1) via the user's network 110 and the network 112. The A/Vrecording and communication doorbell 100 also sends streaming video, andmay also send streaming audio, to the user's client device 114. If theuser answers the alert, two-way audio communication may then occurbetween the visitor and the user through the A/V recording andcommunication doorbell 100 and the user's client device 114. The usermay view the visitor throughout the duration of the call, but thevisitor cannot see the user (unless the A/V recording and communicationdoorbell 100 includes a display, which it may in some embodiments).

The video images captured by the camera 102 of the A/V recording andcommunication doorbell 100 (and the audio captured by the microphone104) may be uploaded to the cloud and recorded on the remote storagedevice 116 (FIG. 1). In some embodiments, the video and/or audio may berecorded on the remote storage device 116 even if the user chooses toignore the alert sent to his or her client device 114.

With further reference to FIG. 1, the system may further comprise abackend API 120 including one or more components. A backend API(application programming interface) may comprise, for example, a server(e.g. a real server, or a virtual machine, or a machine running in acloud infrastructure as a service), or multiple servers networkedtogether, exposing at least one API to client(s) accessing it. Theseservers may include components such as application servers (e.g.software servers), depending upon what other components are included,such as a caching layer, or database layers, or other components. Abackend API may, for example, comprise many such applications, each ofwhich communicate with one another using their public APIs. In someembodiments, the API backend may hold the bulk of the user data andoffer the user management capabilities, leaving the clients to have verylimited state.

The backend API 120 illustrated FIG. 1 may include one or more APIs. AnAPI is a set of routines, protocols, and tools for building software andapplications. An API expresses a software component in terms of itsoperations, inputs, outputs, and underlying types, definingfunctionalities that are independent of their respectiveimplementations, which allows definitions and implementations to varywithout compromising the interface. Advantageously, an API may provide aprogrammer with access to an application's functionality without theprogrammer needing to modify the application itself, or even understandhow the application works. An API may be for a web-based system, anoperating system, or a database system, and it provides facilities todevelop applications for that system using a given programming language.In addition to accessing databases or computer hardware like hard diskdrives or video cards, an API can ease the work of programming GUIcomponents. For example, an API can facilitate integration of newfeatures into existing applications (a so-called “plug-in API”). An APIcan also assist otherwise distinct applications with sharing data, whichcan help to integrate and enhance the functionalities of theapplications.

The backend API 120 illustrated in FIG. 1 may further include one ormore services (also referred to as network services). A network serviceis an application that provides data storage, manipulation,presentation, communication, and/or other capability. Network servicesare often implemented using a client-server architecture based onapplication-layer network protocols. Each service may be provided by aserver component running on one or more computers (such as a dedicatedserver computer offering multiple services) and accessed via a networkby client components running on other devices. However, the client andserver components can both be run on the same machine. Clients andservers may have a user interface, and sometimes other hardwareassociated with them.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a process for streaming and storingA/V content from an A/V recording and communication doorbell systemaccording to various aspects of the present disclosure. At block B200,the A/V recording and communication doorbell 100 detects the visitor'spresence and begins capturing video images within a field of view of thecamera 102. The A/V recording and communication doorbell 100 may alsocapture audio through the microphone 104. As described above, the A/Vrecording and communication doorbell 100 may detect the visitor'spresence by detecting motion using the camera 102 and/or a motionsensor, and/or by detecting that the visitor has depressed the button onthe A/V recording and communication doorbell 100.

At block B202, a communication module of the A/V recording andcommunication doorbell 100 sends a request, via the user's network 110and the network 112, to a device in the network 112. For example, thenetwork device to which the request is sent may be a server such as theserver 118. The server 118 may comprise a computer program and/or amachine that waits for requests from other machines or software(clients) and responds to them. A server typically processes data. Onepurpose of a server is to share data and/or hardware and/or softwareresources among clients. This architecture is called the client-servermodel. The clients may run on the same computer or may connect to theserver over a network. Examples of computing servers include databaseservers, file servers, mail servers, print servers, web servers, gameservers, and application servers. The term server may be construedbroadly to include any computerized process that shares a resource toone or more client processes.

In response to the request, at block B204 the network device may connectthe A/V recording and communication doorbell 100 to the user's clientdevice 114 through the user's network 110 and the network 112. At blockB206, the A/V recording and communication doorbell 100 may recordavailable audio and/or video data using the camera 102, the microphone104, and/or any other sensor available. At block B208, the audio and/orvideo data is transmitted (streamed) from the A/V recording andcommunication doorbell 100 to the user's client device 114 via theuser's network 110 and the network 112. At block B210, the user mayreceive a notification on his or her client device 114 with a prompt toeither accept or deny the call.

At block B212, the process determines whether the user has accepted ordenied the call. If the user denies the notification, then the processadvances to block B214, where the audio and/or video data is recordedand stored at a cloud server. The session then ends at block B216 andthe connection between the A/V recording and communication doorbell 100and the user's client device 114 is terminated. If, however, the useraccepts the notification, then at block B218 the user communicates withthe visitor through the user's client device 114 while audio and/orvideo data captured by the camera 102, the microphone 104, and/or othersensors is streamed to the user's client device 114. At the end of thecall, the user may terminate the connection between the user's clientdevice 114 and the A/V recording and communication doorbell 100 and thesession ends at block B216. In some embodiments, the audio and/or videodata may be recorded and stored at a cloud server (block B214) even ifthe user accepts the notification and communicates with the visitorthrough the user's client device 114.

Many of today's homes include a wired doorbell system that does not haveA/V communication capabilities. Instead, standard wired doorbell systemsinclude a button outside the home next to the front door. The buttonactivates a signaling device (such as a bell or a buzzer) inside thebuilding. Pressing the doorbell button momentarily closes the doorbellcircuit, which may be, for example, a single-pole, single-throw (SPST)push button switch. One terminal of the button is wired to a terminal ona transformer. The transformer steps down the 120-volt or 240-volthousehold AC electrical power to a lower voltage, typically 16 to 24volts. Another terminal on the transformer is wired to a terminal on thesignaling device. Another terminal on the signaling device is wired tothe other terminal on the button. A common signaling device includes twoflat metal bar resonators, which are struck by plungers operated by twosolenoids. The flat bars are tuned to different notes. When the doorbellbutton is pressed, the first solenoid's plunger strikes one of the bars,and when the button is released, a spring on the plunger pushes theplunger up, causing it to strike the other bar, creating a two-tonesound (“ding-dong”).

Many current A/V recording and communication doorbell systems (otherthan the present embodiments) are incompatible with existing wireddoorbell systems of the type described in the preceding paragraph. Onereason for this incompatibility is that the A/V recording andcommunication doorbell draws an amount of power from the household ACelectrical power supply that is above the threshold necessary forcausing the signaling device to sound. The A/V recording andcommunication doorbell thus causes frequent inadvertent sounding of thesignaling device, which is not only bothersome to the home'soccupant(s), but also undermines the usefulness of the doorbell. Thepresent embodiments solve this problem by limiting the power consumptionof the A/V recording and communication doorbell to an amount that isbelow the threshold necessary for causing the signaling device to sound.Embodiments of the present A/V recording and communication doorbell canthus be connected to the existing household AC power supply and theexisting signaling device without causing inadvertent sounding of thesignaling device.

Several advantages flow from the ability of the present embodiments tobe connected to the existing household AC power supply. For example, thecamera of the present A/V recording and communication doorbell can bepowered on continuously. In a typical battery-powered A/V recording andcommunication doorbell, the camera is powered on only part of the timeso that the battery does not drain too rapidly. The present embodiments,by contrast, do not rely on a battery as a primary (or sole) powersupply, and are thus able to keep the camera powered on continuously.Because the camera is able to be powered on continuously, it can alwaysbe recording, and recorded footage can be continuously stored in arolling buffer or sliding window. In some embodiments, about 10-15seconds of recorded footage can be continuously stored in the rollingbuffer or sliding window. Also because the camera is able to be poweredon continuously, it can be used for motion detection, thus eliminatingany need for a separate motion detection device, such as a passiveinfrared sensor (PIR). Eliminating the PIR simplifies the design of theA/V recording and communication doorbell and enables the doorbell to bemade more compact. Also because the camera is able to be powered oncontinuously, it can be used as a light detector for use in controllingthe current state of the IR cut filter and turning the IR LED on andoff. Using the camera as a light detector eliminates any need for aseparate light detector, thereby further simplifying the design of theA/V recording and communication doorbell and enabling the doorbell to bemade even more compact.

FIGS. 3-13 illustrate one embodiment of a low-power-consumption A/Vrecording and communication doorbell 130 according to various aspects ofthe present disclosure. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagramillustrating various components of the A/V recording and communicationdoorbell 130 and their relationships to one another. For example, theA/V recording and communication doorbell 130 includes a pair ofterminals 131, 132 configured to be connected to a source of external AC(alternating-current) power, such as a household AC power supply 134(may also be referred to as AC mains). The AC power 134 may have avoltage in the range of 16-24 VAC, for example. The incoming AC power134 may be converted to DC (direct-current) by an AC/DC rectifier 136.An output of the AC/DC rectifier 136 may be connected to an input of aDC/DC converter 138, which may step down the voltage from the output ofthe AC/DC rectifier 136 from 16-24 VDC to a lower voltage of about 5VDC, for example. In various embodiments, the output of the DC/DCconverter 138 may be in a range of from about 2.5 V to about 7.5 V, forexample.

With further reference to FIG. 3, the output of the DC/DC converter 138is connected to a power manager 140, which may comprise an integratedcircuit including a processor core, memory, and/or programmableinput/output peripherals. In one non-limiting example, the power manager140 may be an off-the-shelf component, such as the BQ24773 chipmanufactured by Texas Instruments. As described in detail below, thepower manager 140 controls, among other things, an amount of power drawnfrom the external power supply 134, as well as an amount of supplementalpower drawn from a battery 142, to power the A/V recording andcommunication doorbell 130. The power manager 140 may, for example,limit the amount of power drawn from the external power supply 134 sothat a threshold power draw is not exceeded. In one non-limitingexample, the threshold power, as measured at the output of the DC/DCconverter 138, may be equal to 1.4 A. The power manager 140 may alsocontrol an amount of power drawn from the external power supply 134 anddirected to the battery 142 for recharging of the battery 142. An outputof the power manager 140 is connected to a power sequencer 144, whichcontrols a sequence of power delivery to other components of the A/Vrecording and communication doorbell 130, including a communicationmodule 146, a front button 148, a microphone 150, a speaker driver 151,a speaker 152, an audio CODEC (Coder-DECoder) 153, a camera 154, aninfrared (IR) light source 156, an IR cut filter 158, a processor 160(may also be referred to as a controller 160), a plurality of lightindicators 162, and a controller 164 for the light indicators 162. Eachof these components is described in detail below. The power sequencer144 may comprise an integrated circuit including a processor core,memory, and/or programmable input/output peripherals. In onenon-limiting example, the power sequencer 144 may be an off-the-shelfcomponent, such as the RT5024 chip manufactured by Richtek.

With further reference to FIG. 3, the A/V recording and communicationdoorbell 130 further comprises an electronic switch 166 that closes whenthe front button 148 is depressed. When the electronic switch 166closes, power from the AC power source 134 is diverted through asignaling device 168 that is external to the A/V recording andcommunication doorbell 130 to cause the signaling device 168 to emit asound, as further described below. In one non-limiting example, theelectronic switch 166 may be a triac device. The A/V recording andcommunication doorbell 130 further comprises a reset button 170configured to initiate a hard reset of the processor 160, as furtherdescribed below.

With further reference to FIG. 3, the processor 160 may perform dataprocessing and various other functions, as described below. Theprocessor 160 may comprise an integrated circuit including a processorcore, memory 172, non-volatile memory 174, and/or programmableinput/output peripherals (not shown). The memory 172 may comprise, forexample, DDR3 (double data rate type three synchronous dynamicrandom-access memory). The non-volatile memory 174 may comprise, forexample, NAND flash memory. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, thememory 172 and the non-volatile memory 174 are illustrated within thebox representing the processor 160. It is to be understood that theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 3 is merely an example, and in someembodiments the memory 172 and/or the non-volatile memory 174 are notnecessarily physically incorporated with the processor 160. The memory172 and/or the non-volatile memory 174, regardless of their physicallocation, may be shared by one or more other components (in addition tothe processor 160) of the present A/V recording and communicationdoorbell 130.

The transfer of digital audio between the user and a visitor may becompressed and decompressed using the audio CODEC 153, which isoperatively coupled to the processor 160. When the visitor speaks, audiofrom the visitor is compressed by the audio CODEC 153, digital audiodata is sent through the communication module 146 to the network 112 viathe user's network 110, routed by the server 118 and delivered to theuser's client device 114. When the user speaks, after being transferredthrough the network 112, the user's network 110, and the communicationmodule 146, the digital audio data is decompressed by the audio CODEC153 and emitted to the visitor through the speaker 152, which is drivenby the speaker driver 151.

With further reference to FIG. 3, some of the present embodiments mayinclude a shunt 176 connected in parallel with the signaling device 168.The shunt 176 facilitates the ability of the A/V recording andcommunication doorbell 130 to draw power from the AC power source 134without inadvertently triggering the signaling device 168. The shunt176, during normal standby operation, presents a relatively lowelectrical impedance, such as a few ohms, across the terminals of thesignaling device 168. Most of the current drawn by the A/V recording andcommunication doorbell 130, therefore, flows through the shunt 176, andnot through the signaling device 168. The shunt 176, however, containselectronic circuitry (described below) that switches the shunt 176between a state of low impedance, such as a few ohms, for example, and astate of high impedance, such as >1K ohms, for example. When the frontbutton 148 of the A/V recording and communication doorbell 130 ispressed, the electronic switch 166 closes, causing the voltage from theAC power source 134 to be impressed mostly across the shunt 176 and thesignaling device 168 in parallel, while a small amount of voltage, suchas about 1V, is impressed across the electronic switch 166. Thecircuitry in the shunt 176 senses this voltage, and switches the shunt176 to the high impedance state, so that power from the AC power source134 is diverted through the signaling device 168. The diverted AC power134 is above the threshold necessary to cause the signaling device 168to emit a sound. Pressing the front button 148 of the doorbell 130therefore causes the signaling device 168 to “ring,” alerting anyperson(s) within the structure to which the doorbell 130 is mounted thatthere is a visitor at the front door (or at another locationcorresponding to the location of the doorbell 130). In one non-limitingexample, the electronic switch 166 may be a triac device.

With reference to FIGS. 4-6, the A/V recording and communicationdoorbell 130 further comprises a housing 178 having an enclosure 180(FIG. 6), a back plate 182 secured to the rear of the enclosure 180, anda shell 184 overlying the enclosure 180. With reference to FIG. 6, theshell 184 includes a recess 186 that is sized and shaped to receive theenclosure 180 in a close fitting engagement, such that outer surfaces ofthe enclosure 180 abut conforming inner surfaces of the shell 184.Exterior dimensions of the enclosure 180 may be closely matched withinterior dimensions of the shell 184 such that friction maintains theshell 184 about the enclosure 180. Alternatively, or in addition, theenclosure 180 and/or the shell 184 may include mating features 188, suchas one or more tabs, grooves, slots, posts, etc. to assist inmaintaining the shell 184 about the enclosure 180. The back plate 182 issized and shaped such that the edges of the back plate 182 extendoutward from the edges of the enclosure 180, thereby creating a lip 190against which the shell 184 abuts when the shell 184 is mated with theenclosure 180, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. In some embodiments, multipleshells 184 in different colors may be provided so that the end user maycustomize the appearance of his or her A/V recording and communicationdoorbell 130. For example, the A/V recording and communication doorbell130 may be packaged and sold with multiple shells 184 in differentcolors in the same package.

With reference to FIG. 4, a front surface of the A/V recording andcommunication doorbell 130 includes the button 148 (may also be referredto as front button 148, FIG. 3), which is operatively connected to theprocessor 160. In a process similar to that described above withreference to FIG. 2, when a visitor presses the front button 148, analert may be sent to the user's client device to notify the user thatsomeone is at his or her front door (or at another locationcorresponding to the location of the A/V recording and communicationdoorbell 130). With further reference to FIG. 4, the A/V recording andcommunication doorbell 130 further includes the camera 154, which isoperatively connected to the processor 160, and which is located behinda shield 192. As described in detail below, the camera 154 is configuredto capture video images from within its field of view. Those videoimages can be streamed to the user's client device and/or uploaded to aremote network device for later viewing according to a process similarto that described above with reference to FIG. 2.

With reference to FIG. 5, a pair of terminal screws 194 extends throughthe back plate 182. The terminal screws 194 are connected at their innerends to the terminals 131, 132 (FIG. 3) within the A/V recording andcommunication doorbell 130. The terminal screws 194 are configured toreceive electrical wires to connect to the A/V recording andcommunication doorbell 130, through the terminals 131, 132, to thehousehold AC power supply 134 of the structure on which the A/Vrecording and communication doorbell 130 is mounted. In the illustratedembodiment, the terminal screws 194 are located within a recessedportion 196 of the rear surface 198 of the back plate 182 so that theterminal screws 194 do not protrude from the outer envelope of the A/Vrecording and communication doorbell 130. The A/V recording andcommunication doorbell 130 can thus be mounted to a mounting surfacewith the rear surface 198 of the back plate 182 abutting the mountingsurface. The back plate 182 includes apertures 200 adjacent its upperand lower edges to accommodate mounting hardware, such as screws (notshown), for securing the back plate 182 (and thus the A/V recording andcommunication doorbell 130) to the mounting surface. With reference toFIG. 6, the enclosure 180 includes corresponding apertures 202 adjacentits upper and lower edges that align with the apertures 200 in the backplate 182 to accommodate the mounting hardware. In certain embodiments,the A/V recording and communication doorbell 130 may include a mountingplate or bracket (not shown) to facilitate securing the A/V recordingand communication doorbell 130 to the mounting surface.

With further reference to FIG. 6, the shell 184 includes a centralopening 204 in a front surface. The central opening 204 is sized andshaped to accommodate the shield 192. In the illustrated embodiment, theshield 192 is substantially rectangular, and includes a central opening206 through which the front button 148 protrudes. The shield 192 definesa plane parallel to and in front of a front surface 208 of the enclosure180. When the shell 184 is mated with the enclosure 180, as shown inFIGS. 4 and 10, the shield 192 resides within the central opening 204 ofthe shell 184 such that a front surface 210 of the shield 192 issubstantially flush with a front surface 212 of the shell 184 and thereis little or no gap (FIG. 4) between the outer edges of the shield 192and the inner edges of the central opening 204 in the shell 184.

With further reference to FIG. 6, the shield 192 includes an upperportion 214 (located above and to the sides of the front button 148) anda lower portion 216 (located below and to the sides of the front button148). The upper and lower portions 214, 216 of the shield 192 may beseparate pieces, and may comprise different materials. The upper portion214 of the shield 192 may be transparent or translucent so that it doesnot interfere with the field of view of the camera 154. For example, incertain embodiments the upper portion 214 of the shield 192 may compriseglass or plastic. As described in detail below, the microphone 150,which is operatively connected to the processor 160, is located behindthe upper portion 214 of the shield 192. The upper portion 214,therefore, may include an opening 218 that facilitates the passage ofsound through the shield 192 so that the microphone 150 is better ableto pick up sounds from the area around the A/V recording andcommunication doorbell 130.

The lower portion 216 of the shield 192 may comprise a material that issubstantially transparent to infrared (IR) light, but partially ormostly opaque with respect to light in the visible spectrum. Forexample, in certain embodiments the lower portion 216 of the shield 192may comprise a plastic, such as polycarbonate. The lower portion 216 ofthe shield 192, therefore, does not interfere with transmission of IRlight from the IR light source 156, which is located behind the lowerportion 216. As described in detail below, the IR light source 156 andthe IR cut filter 158, which are both operatively connected to theprocessor 160, facilitate “night vision” functionality of the camera154.

The upper portion 214 and/or the lower portion 216 of the shield 192 mayabut an underlying cover 220 (FIG. 10), which may be integral with theenclosure 180 or may be a separate piece. The cover 220, which may beopaque, may include a first opening 222 corresponding to the location ofthe camera 154, a second opening (not shown) corresponding to thelocation of the microphone 150 and the opening 218 in the upper portion214 of the shield 192, and a third opening (not shown) corresponding tothe location of the IR light source 156.

FIGS. 7-10 illustrate various internal components of the A/V recordingand communication doorbell 130. FIGS. 7-9 are front perspective views ofthe doorbell 130 with the shell 184 and the enclosure 180 removed, whileFIG. 10 is a right-side cross-sectional view of the doorbell 130 takenthrough the line 10-10 in FIG. 4. With reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, theA/V recording and communication doorbell 130 further comprises a mainprinted circuit board (PCB) 224 and a front PCB 226. With reference toFIG. 8, the front PCB 226 comprises a button actuator 228. Withreference to FIGS. 7, 8, and 10, the front button 148 is located infront of the button actuator 228. The front button 148 includes a stem230 (FIG. 10) that extends into the housing 178 to contact the buttonactuator 228. When the front button 148 is pressed, the stem 230depresses the button actuator 228, thereby closing the electronic switch166 (FIG. 8), as described below.

With reference to FIG. 8, the front PCB 226 further comprises the lightindicators 162, which may illuminate when the front button 148 of thedoorbell 130 is pressed. In the illustrated embodiment, the lightindicators 162 comprise light-emitting diodes (LEDs 162) that aresurface mounted to the front surface of the front PCB 226 and arearranged in a circle around the button actuator 228. The presentembodiments are not limited to the light indicators 162 being LEDs, andin alternative embodiments the light indicators 162 may comprise anyother type of light-emitting device. The present embodiments are alsonot limited by the number of light indicators 162 shown in FIG. 8, norby the pattern in which they are arranged.

With reference to FIG. 7, the doorbell 130 further comprises a lightpipe 232. The light pipe 232 is a transparent or translucent ring thatencircles the front button 148. With reference to FIG. 4, the light pipe232 resides in an annular space between the front button 148 and thecentral opening 206 in the shield 192, with a front surface 234 of thelight pipe 232 being substantially flush with the front surface 210 ofthe shield 192. With reference to FIGS. 7 and 10, a rear portion oflight pipe 232 includes a plurality of posts 236 whose positionscorrespond to the positions of the LEDs 162. When the LEDs 162 areilluminated, light is transmitted through the posts 236 and the body ofthe light pipe 232 so that the light is visible at the front surface 234of the light pipe 232. The LEDs 162 and the light pipe 232 thus providea ring of illumination around the front button 148. The light pipe 232may comprise a plastic, for example, or any other suitable materialcapable of transmitting light.

The LEDs 162 and the light pipe 232 may function as visual indicatorsfor a visitor and/or a user. For example, the LEDs 162 may illuminateupon activation or stay illuminated continuously. In one aspect, theLEDs 162 may change color to indicate that the front button 148 has beenpressed. The LEDs 162 may also indicate that the battery 142 needsrecharging, or that the battery 142 is currently being charged, or thatcharging of the battery 142 has been completed. The LEDs 162 mayindicate that a connection to the user's network is good, limited, poor,or not connected. The LEDs 162 may be used to guide the user throughsetup or installation steps using visual cues, potentially coupled withaudio cues emitted from the speaker 152.

With further reference to FIG. 7, the A/V recording and communicationdoorbell 130 further comprises a rechargeable battery 142. As describedin further detail below, the A/V recording and communication doorbell130 is connected to an external power source 134 (FIG. 3), such as ACmains. The A/V recording and communication doorbell 130 is primarilypowered by the external power source 134, but may also draw power fromthe rechargeable battery 142 so as not to exceed a threshold amount ofpower from the external power source 134, to thereby avoid inadvertentlysounding the signaling device 168. With reference to FIG. 3, the battery142 is operatively connected to the power manager 140. As describedbelow, the power manager 140 controls an amount of power drawn from thebattery 142 to supplement the power drawn from the external AC powersource 134 to power the A/V recording and communication doorbell 130when supplemental power is needed. The power manager 140 also controlsrecharging of the battery 142 using power drawn from the external powersource 134. The battery 142 may comprise, for example, a lithium-ionbattery, or any other type of rechargeable battery.

With further reference to FIG. 7, the A/V recording and communicationdoorbell 130 further comprises the camera 154. The camera 154 is coupledto a front surface of the front PCB 226, and includes a lens 238 and animaging processor 240 (FIG. 9). The camera lens 238 may be a lenscapable of focusing light into the camera 154 so that clear images maybe captured. The camera 154 may comprise, for example, a high definition(HD) video camera, such as one capable of capturing video images at animage display resolution of 720p or better. In certain of the presentembodiments, the camera 154 may be used to detect motion within itsfield of view, as described below.

With further reference to FIG. 7, the A/V recording and communicationdoorbell 130 further comprises an infrared (IR) light source 242. In theillustrated embodiment, the IR light source 242 comprises an IRlight-emitting diode (LED) 242 coupled to an IR LED printed circuitboard (PCB) 244. In alternative embodiments, the IR LED 242 may notcomprise a separate PCB 244, and may, for example, be coupled to thefront PCB 226.

With reference to FIGS. 7 and 10, the IR LED PCB 244 is located belowthe front button 148 (FIG. 7) and behind the lower portion 216 of theshield 192 (FIG. 10). As described above, the lower portion 216 of theshield 192 is transparent to IR light, but may be opaque with respect tolight in the visible spectrum. FIG. 7A illustrates an alternativeembodiment of the IR LED PCB 244′ comprising three IR LEDs 242. In anembodiment including the IR LED PCB 244′ of FIG. 7A, or including any IRLED PCB having more than one IR LED 242, the size of the third openingin the cover may be increased to accommodate the larger size of the IRLED PCB 244′.

The IR LED 242 may be triggered to activate when a low level of ambientlight is detected. When activated, IR light emitted from the IR LED 242illuminates the camera 154's field of view. The camera 154, which may beconfigured to detect IR light, may then capture the IR light emitted bythe IR LED 242 as it reflects off objects within the camera 154's fieldof view, so that the A/V recording and communication doorbell 130 canclearly capture images at night (may be referred to as “night vision”).

With reference to FIG. 9, the A/V recording and communication doorbell130 further comprises an IR cut filter 158. The IR cut filter 158 is amechanical shutter that can be selectively positioned between the lens238 and the image sensor of the camera 154. During daylight hours, orwhenever there is a sufficient amount of ambient light, the IR cutfilter 158 is positioned between the lens 238 and the image sensor tofilter out IR light so that it does not distort the colors of images asthe human eye sees them. During nighttime hours, or whenever there islittle to no ambient light, the IR cut filter 158 is withdrawn from thespace between the lens 238 and the image sensor, so that the camera 154is sensitive to IR light (“night vision”). In some embodiments, thecamera 154 acts as a light detector for use in controlling the currentstate of the IR cut filter 158 and turning the IR LED 242 on and off.Using the camera 154 as a light detector is facilitated in someembodiments by the fact that the A/V recording and communicationdoorbell 130 is powered by a connection to AC mains, and the camera 154,therefore, is always powered on. In other embodiments, however, the A/Vrecording and communication doorbell 130 may include a light sensorseparate from the camera 154 for use in controlling the IR cut filter158 and the IR LED 242.

With reference back to FIG. 6, the A/V recording and communicationdoorbell 130 further comprises a reset button 170. The reset button 170contacts a reset button actuator 246 (FIG. 8) coupled to the front PCB226. When the reset button 170 is pressed, it may contact the resetbutton actuator 246, which may trigger the erasing of any data stored atthe non-volatile memory 174 and/or at the memory 172 (FIG. 3), and/ormay trigger a reboot of the processor 160.

FIGS. 11-13 further illustrate internal components of the A/V recordingand communication doorbell 130. FIGS. 11-13 are rear perspective viewsof the doorbell 130 with the back plate 182 and additional componentsremoved. For example, in FIG. 11 the back plate 182 is removed, while inFIG. 12 the back plate 182 and the main PCB 224 are removed, and in FIG.13 the back plate 182, the main PCB 224, and the front PCB 226 areremoved. With reference to FIG. 11, several components are coupled tothe rear surface of the main PCB 224, including the communication module146, the processor 160, memory 172, and non-volatile memory 174. Thefunctions of each of these components are described below. Withreference to FIG. 12, several components are coupled to the rear surfaceof the front PCB 226, including the power manager 140, the powersequencer 144, the AC/DC rectifier 136, the DC/DC converter 138, and thecontroller 164 for the light indicators 162. The functions of each ofthese components are also described below. With reference to FIG. 13,several components are visible within the enclosure 180, including themicrophone 150, a speaker chamber 248 (in which the speaker 152 islocated), and an antenna 250 for the communication module 146. Thefunctions of each of these components are also described below.

With reference to FIG. 7, the antenna 250 is coupled to the frontsurface of the main PCB 224 and operatively connected to thecommunication module 146, which is coupled to the rear surface of themain PCB 224 (FIG. 11). The microphone 150, which may also be coupled tothe front surface of the main PCB 224, is located near the opening 218(FIG. 4) in the upper portion 214 of the shield 192 so that soundsemanating from the area around the A/V recording and communicationdoorbell 130 can pass through the opening 218 and be detected by themicrophone 150. With reference to FIG. 13, the speaker chamber 248 islocated near the bottom of the enclosure 180. The speaker chamber 248comprises a hollow enclosure in which the speaker 152 is located. Thehollow speaker chamber 248 amplifies the sounds made by the speaker 152so that they can be better heard by a visitor in the area near the A/Vrecording and communication doorbell 130. With reference to FIGS. 5 and13, the lower surface 252 of the shell 184 and the lower surface (notshown) of the enclosure 180 may include an acoustical opening 254through which the sounds made by the speaker 152 can pass so that theycan be better heard by a visitor in the area near the A/V recording andcommunication doorbell 130. In the illustrated embodiment, theacoustical opening 254 is shaped generally as a rectangle having alength extending substantially across the lower surface 252 of the shell184 (and also the enclosure 180). The illustrated shape is, however,just one example. With reference to FIG. 5, the lower surface 252 of theshell 184 may further include an opening 256 for receiving a securityscrew (not shown). The security screw may extend through the opening 256and into a similarly located opening in the enclosure 180 to secure theshell 184 to the enclosure 180. If the doorbell 130 is mounted to amounting bracket (not shown), the security screw may also maintain thedoorbell 130 on the mounting bracket.

With reference to FIG. 13, the A/V recording and communication doorbell130 may further include a battery heater 258. The present A/V recordingand communication doorbell 130 is configured for outdoor use, includingin cold climates. Cold temperatures, however, can cause negativeperformance issues for rechargeable batteries, such as reduced energycapacity, increased internal resistance, reduced ability to chargewithout damage, and reduced ability to supply load current. The batteryheater 258 helps to keep the rechargeable battery 142 warm in order toreduce or eliminate the foregoing negative performance issues. In theillustrated embodiment, the battery heater 258 comprises a substantiallyflat, thin sheet abutting a side surface of the rechargeable battery142. The battery heater 258 may comprise, for example, an electricallyresistive heating element that produces heat when electrical current ispassed through it. The battery heater 258 may thus be operativelycoupled to the power manager 140 and/or the power sequencer 144 (FIG.12). In some embodiments, the rechargeable battery 142 may include athermally sensitive resistor (“thermistor,” not shown) operativelyconnected to the processor 160 so that the battery 142′s temperature canbe monitored and the amount of power supplied to the battery heater 258can be adaptively controlled to keep the rechargeable battery 142 withina desired temperature range.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a process fordrawing supplemental power from the battery 142 of the present A/Vrecording and communication doorbell 130 in order to avoid inadvertentsounding of the connected signaling device 168. At block B280, the A/Vrecording and communication doorbell 130 draws power, below a thresholdpower, from an external power source. The external power source may be,for example, the AC power source 134, as shown in FIG. 3. The thresholdpower may be, for example, the power level at which the signaling device168 (FIG. 3) would sound. In one non-limiting example, the thresholdpower may be measured at the output of the DC/DC converter 138 (FIG. 3).The threshold power may be measured by the power manager 140 (FIG. 3),for example. In one non-limiting example, the threshold power, asmeasured at the output of the DC/DC converter 138, may be equal to 1.4A.

At block B282, the process determines whether the power drawn from theexternal power source 134 has reached the threshold power. In someembodiments, the power manager 140 (FIG. 3), for example, may determinewhether the power drawn from the external power source 134 has reachedthe threshold power. If the power drawn from the external power source134 has not reached the threshold power, then the process loops back toblock B280. If, however, the power drawn from the external power source134 has reached the threshold power, then the process moves to blockB284. At block B284, the A/V recording and communication doorbell 130draws supplemental power from the battery 142 as needed so that thepower drawn from the external power source 134 does not exceed thethreshold power. In this manner, the process of FIG. 14 avoidsinadvertent sounding of the connected signaling device 168. Examples ofscenarios where the power drawn from the external power source 134 mightreach the threshold power include, but are not limited to, whenswitching the IR cut filter 158 from daytime mode to nighttime mode (andvice versa), or when a call is in progress between a visitor at the A/Vrecording and communication doorbell 130 and a user using a clientdevice and the IR light source 156 is illuminated. In some embodiments,when the power being drawn from the external power source 134 is belowthe threshold power, the power manager 140 may direct a portion of thepower drawn from the external power source 134 to the battery 142 inorder to recharge the battery 142.

As discussed above, and with reference back to FIG. 3, some of thepresent embodiments may include a shunt 176 connected in parallel acrossthe terminals of the signaling device 168. The shunt 176 facilitates theability of the A/V recording and communication doorbell 130 to drawpower from the AC power source 134 without inadvertently triggering thesignaling device 168. FIG. 15 illustrates an example embodiment of theshunt 176. With reference to FIG. 15, the shunt 176 comprises afull-wave bridge rectifier 300, a capacitor 302, a diode 304, a shuntswitch 306, a first resistor R_(Shunt) 308, and a second resistorR_(Bias) 310. In some embodiments, the shunt switch 306 may be anopto-coupled switch, for example. The first resistor R_(Shunt) 308presents a relatively low electrical impedance, such as a few ohms forexample, while the second resistor R_(Bias) 310 presents a higherelectrical impedance, such as >1K ohms for example.

During normal standby operation, the shunt switch 306 is closed. Theshunt 176, therefore, presents a relatively low electrical impedanceacross the terminals AC₁, AC₂ of the signaling device 168, because theimpedance of the first resistor R_(Shunt) 308 is relatively low and theimpedance of the switch is even lower, such as about 1 ohm or less inone example. Most of the current drawn by the A/V recording andcommunication doorbell 130, therefore, flows through the shunt 176, andnot through the signaling device 168. When the front button 148 of theAN recording and communication doorbell 130 is pressed, however, theelectronic switch 166 doses, causing the voltage from the AC powersource 134 to be impressed mostly across the shunt 176 and the signalingdevice 168 in parallel, while a small amount of voltage, such as about1V in one example, is impressed across the electronic switch 166, if itis implemented as a triac for example. The circuitry in the shunt 176senses the voltage across its terminals AC₁, AC₂, causing the shuntswitch 306 to open, which puts the shunt 176 into a high impedancestate. When the shunt 176 receives enough AC voltage, the full-wavebridge rectifier 300 provides and outputs enough DC voltage such thatthe diode 304 biased by resistor 310 R_(bias) conducts enough current tocause the switch 306 to change to an open or very high impedance state.Thus, the switching action of the shunt 176 makes nearly all availablepower from the AC power source 134 usable by the signaling device 168,when it is desired. The amount of diverted AC power from the AC powersource 134 is above the threshold necessary to cause the signalingdevice 168 to emit a sound. Pressing the front button 148 of thedoorbell 130 therefore causes the signaling device 168 to sound,alerting any person(s) within the structure to which the doorbell 130 ismounted that there is a visitor at the front door (or at anotherlocation corresponding to the location of the doorbell 130).

With continued reference to FIG. 15, the shunt 176 further comprises afirst comparator circuit 312 and a second comparator circuit 314. FIGS.16 and 17 are circuit diagrams illustrating example embodiments of thefirst and second comparator 324 circuits 312, 314, respectively, of theshunt 176 of FIG. 15. The comparators 312, 314 of FIGS. 16 and 17 areboth open collector-type or open drain-type. These types of comparatorsare advantageous because they allow the outputs to be tied togetherwithout conflict, commonly known as a “wired-OR” connection. As furtherdescribed below, the first comparator circuit 312 serves the purpose ofreturning the state of the shunt switch 306 to the normally closed, lowimpedance state, when an opening event is detected at the electronicswitch 166 (FIG. 3). The second comparator circuit 314 serves as a timeout safety trigger, returning the state of the shunt switch 306 to thenormally closed, low impedance state, in the event that the firstcomparator circuit 312 fails to perform its intended function.

With reference to FIG. 16, the first comparator circuit 312 comprises afirst comparator 316, and an RC network at each of its two inputs 318,320. The first (positive) input 318 of the first comparator 316 has anRC network having time constant Tau₁, where Tau₁=C₁*R₁. The second(negative) input 320 of the first comparator 316 has a voltage dividerR₂/(R₂+R₃) and time constant Tau₂, where Tau₂=C₂*((R₂*R₃)/((R₂+R₃))).With reference to FIGS. 18 and 19, which are waveform diagrams for thefirst comparator circuit 312 of FIG. 16, the first comparator circuit312 behavior is as follows. At time t₁, when the V_(DC) at the capacitor302 (FIG. 15) ramps up due to closure of the electronic switch (FIG. 3),both inputs 318, 320 to the first comparator 316 rise, with V₂ risingslower and asymptotically approaching V_(MAX)*(R₂/(R₂+R₃)), while V₁rises faster and approaches V_(MAX). The ratio R₂/(R₂+R₃) may be chosenbased on noise level consideration, particularly to ensure a positivedrive with margin into the first comparator 316, for all times when theelectronic switch 166 is closed. This assures the output V_(OUT) 322 ofthe first comparator 316 will be high impedance, since it is an opencollector-type or an open drain-type output. Upon the electronic switch166 opening at time t₂, the voltage V_(DC) at the capacitor 302 drops,and the voltage V₁ drops below V₂. The first comparator 316 responds bydriving its output V_(OUT) 322 on, which pulls down the voltage andstarts to turn off the diode 304 in the shunt switch 306. The shuntswitch 306 responds by reverting back to its normally closed position.

With reference to FIG. 17, the second comparator circuit 314 comprises asecond comparator 324, and an RC network at each of its two inputs 326,328, but with the addition of a diode 330 in one of the series branches.The first (positive) input 326 of the second comparator 324 receives anattenuated version of V_(DC). More precisely, it receives a voltagegiven by V_(DC)*(R₆/(R₆+R₅)). In some embodiments, a capacitor (notshown) may be provided across R₆, as some filtering may be advantageous.The second (negative) input 328 of the second comparator 324 receives avoltage V₄ that rises slowly after V_(DC) ramps up. With reference toFIGS. 20 and 21, which are waveform diagrams for the second comparatorcircuit 314 of FIG. 17, the second comparator circuit 314 behavior is asfollows. The rising waveform is given byV₄(t)=V_(DCMAX)*(1-exp(-t/Tau₃)) where Tau₃=C₄*R₄. While V₄asymptotically approaches V_(DCMAX), it will hit V_(DCMAX)*(R₆/(R₆+R₅))at time t₃, which is given by t₃=Tau₃*In (1+R₆/R₅). Because of delays inthe feedback mechanism, the voltage V₄ will actually go higher than V₃,causing the output V_(OUT) 332 of the second comparator 324 to be pulledlow. This causes the diode 304 in the shunt switch 306 to discharge andturn off, which in turn causes the shunt switch 306 in SW₁ to revert toits normally closed position. The feedback mechanism is positive in thatthe turning off of the diode 304 puts the shunt 176 in a low impedancestate, which causes the diode 304 to turn off even faster, since a lowimpedance state of the shunt 176 will collapse the AC₁, AC₂ terminals,if the electronic switch 166 is not closed. Reducing the voltage acrossAC₁, AC₂ will reduce the output of the full-wave bridge rectifier 300,V_(DC).

FIG. 22 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a process forsounding the signaling device 168 connected to the present A/V recordingand communication doorbell 130 according to various aspects of thepresent disclosure. At block B380, the A/V recording and communicationdoorbell 130 draws power from an external power source. The externalpower source may be, for example, the AC power source 134, as shown inFIG. 3. At block B382, the power flows through the signaling device 168and the shunt 176 in parallel, and the shunt 176 is in the low impedancestate. At block B384, the process determines whether the front button148 has been depressed. If the front button 148 has not been depressed,then the process returns to block B382. If, however, the front button148 has been depressed, then the process moves to block B386. At blockB386, the electronic switch 166 closes, thereby causing the shunt 176 totransition to the high impedance state, which in turn causes the powerdrawn from the external power source to be diverted through thesignaling device 168, which in turn causes the signaling device 168 toemit a sound. Also, when the front button 148 is depressed, the speaker152 of the A/V recording and communication doorbell 130 may emit a soundto alert any persons within earshot of the speaker 152 that a visitorhas pressed the front button 148.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart illustrating another embodiment of a process forsounding the signaling device 168 connected to the present A/V recordingand communication doorbell 130 according to various aspects of thepresent disclosure. At block B350, the A/V recording and communicationdoorbell 130 draws power from an external power source. The externalpower source may be, for example, the AC power source 134, as shown inFIG. 3. At block B352, the power flows through the signaling device 168and the shunt 176 in parallel, and the shunt 176 is in the low impedancestate. At block B354, the process determines whether the front button148 has been depressed. If the front button 148 has not been depressed,then the process returns to block B352. If, however, the front button148 has been depressed, then the process moves to block B356. Also, whenthe front button 148 is depressed, the speaker 152 of the A/V recordingand communication doorbell 130 may emit a sound to alert any personswithin earshot of the speaker 152 that a visitor has pressed the frontbutton 148.

At block B356, the process determines whether the power in the battery142 is above a threshold. This determination helps ensure that thebattery 142 does not drain completely while the power manager 140 isdrawing supplemental power from the battery 142. If the power in thebattery 142 is not above the threshold, then the process returns toblock B352. If, however, the power in the battery 142 is above thethreshold, then the process moves to block B358. At block B358, theelectronic switch 166 closes, thereby causing the shunt 176 totransition to the high impedance state, which in turn causes the powerdrawn from the external power source to be diverted through thesignaling device 168, which in turn causes the signaling device 168 toemit a sound.

Also at block B358, a first timer is activated. The first timer, whichmay be implemented by the processor 160, for example, enables severaladvantages. For example, the first timer enhances the compatibility ofthe present A/V recording and communication doorbell 130 with differenttypes of existing signaling devices 168. Many existing signaling devicesare of two types: electro-mechanical and electronic. Electro-mechanicalsignaling devices typically include a pair of metal tubes (or plates)that are tuned to different notes and act as resonators when struck. Aplunger strikes the tubes or plates in quick succession, creating the“ding-dong” sound that is characteristic of many traditional doorbells.Electronic signaling devices, by contrast, typically include an audiospeaker that acts as an electro-acoustic transducer. The speaker can inmany instances be made to play custom ringtones having differentdurations.

During initial setup of some embodiments of the present A/V recordingand communication doorbell 130, the duration of the first timer may beset according to the type of signaling device 168 with which it ispaired, and the duration of the first timer may be customizable. Forexample, if the doorbell 130 is paired with an electro-mechanicalsignaling device 168, then the first timer may be set to a relativelyshort duration, such as 250 ms. A short duration for the first timerenables the electro-mechanical signaling device 168 to emit thecharacteristic “ding-dong” sound, because the plunger of the signalingdevice 168 will strike a first one of the metal tubes (or plates) whenthe electronic switch 166 closes and strike the second one of the metaltubes (or plates) when the electronic switch 166 opens. If the doorbell130 is paired with an electro-mechanical signaling device 168, theduration of the first timer may be preset (not customizable by theuser). If, however, the doorbell 130 is paired with an electronicsignaling device 168, then the first timer may be set to a relativelylong duration, such as from 1 second to 10 seconds, and the duration ofthe first timer may be selectable by the user. For example, if theuser's electronic signaling device 168 plays a ringtone having aduration of about 3 seconds, then the user may set the duration of thefirst timer to be about 3 seconds.

During initial setup of some embodiments of the present A/V recordingand communication doorbell 130, the user may be prompted to indicatewhat type of signaling device 168 the doorbell 130 is to be paired with.If the user indicates that the signaling device 168 iselectro-mechanical, then the process may automatically set the durationof the first timer to a relatively short duration. If, however, the userindicates that the signaling device 168 is electronic, then the processmay prompt the user to enter a desired duration for the first timer. Insome embodiments, the process may prompt the user that the duration mustbe within a preset range.

At block B360, the process determines whether the first timer hasexpired. If the first timer has expired, then the process moves to blockB364, which is described below. If, however, the first timer has notexpired, then the process moves to block B362. At block B362, theprocess determines whether a notification has been received that a callto the user's client device has been answered. If no notification hasbeen received that a call to the user's client device has been answered,then the process returns to block B360. If, however, a notification hasbeen received that a call to the user's client device has been answered,then the process moves to block B364. At block B364, the electronicswitch 166 opens, and a second timer is activated. The second timer,which may be implemented by the processor 160, for example, prevents asubsequent press of the front button 148 from closing the electronicswitch 166, thereby preventing the visitor from repeatedly sounding thesignaling device 168 (by rapidly pressing and re-pressing the frontbutton 148). The second timer also allows time for the battery 142 torecharge. The process then moves to block B366. At block B366, theprocess determines whether the front button 148 has been depressed. Ifthe front button 148 has not been depressed, then the process returns toblock B366. If, however, the front button 148 has been depressed, thenthe process moves to block B368. At block B368, the process determineswhether the second timer has expired. If the second timer has notexpired, then the process returns to block B366. If, however, the secondtimer has expired, then the process returns to block B356.

In some embodiments, the present A/V recording and communicationdoorbell 130 may detect a visitor (by detecting motion) before thevisitor presses the front button 148. In such cases, the A/V recordingand communication doorbell 130 may initiate a call to the user's clientdevice in a manner similar to that described above with respect toblocks B202-B210 of FIG. 2. If the user answers the call on his or herclient device before the visitor presses the front button 148 of the A/Vrecording and communication doorbell 130, then the front button 148 maybe blocked out as long as the call between the visitor and the user isstill in progress. That is, if the visitor presses the front button 148while the call between the visitor and the user is in progress, theelectronic switch 166 may be prevented from closing. If, however, thevisitor presses the front button 148 of the A/V recording andcommunication doorbell 130 before the user answers the call on his orher client device, then the process may proceed according to thatdescribed above with respect to FIG. 23 (beginning at block B354).

Some of the present embodiments provide advantageous motion detectionalgorithms and techniques. For example, during an initial setup process,or at any time after the A/V recording and communication doorbell 130has been setup, the user may designate one or more zones within thefield of view 400 of the camera 154 as motion zones of interest, alsoreferred to as “intrusion zones.” With reference to FIG. 24, whenconfiguring the camera 154's motion detection, a configuration processmay present the user with a visual representation of the field of view400 of the camera 154. For example, an application executing on theuser's client device 800, such as a smartphone, may show a live viewfrom the camera 154 of the user's A/V recording and communicationdoorbell 130 on the display 806 of the user's client device 800 (FIG.25). The configuration process may prompt the user to designate one ormore intrusion zones 402 by selecting areas on the display 806 of theuser's client device 800. For example, the user may draw one or morepolygons 404, 406, 408 on the display 806 to designate the intrusionzone(s) 402. If the display 806 of the user's client device 800 is atouchscreen, the user may designate the intrusion zone(s) 402 by tracingthe polygon(s) 404, 406, 408 on the display 806 with his or her finger.The configuration process may enable the user to designate intrusionzone(s) 402 having any shape and/or number of sides. For example, theintrusion zone(s) 402 may be regular polygons such as the square 404,rectangle 406, and hexagon 408 shown in FIG. 24, or any other type ofregular polygon such as circles, pentagons, octagons, decagons, etc., orany type of irregular polygons. The configuration process may allow theuser to designate any number of intrusion zones 402, such as oneintrusion zone 402, two intrusion zones 402, three intrusion zones 402,etc. When all desired intrusion zones 402 have been created, theconfiguration process may prompt the user to save the intrusion zones402, after which the created intrusion zones 402 may be sent from theuser's client device 800 to a device in the network, such as a server900C (FIG. 26), and to the user's A/V recording and communicationdoorbell 130 via the user's network 110 (FIG. 1).

After one or more intrusion zones 402 have been designated, embodimentsof the present motion detection algorithms and techniques mayincorporate those intrusion zones 402. For example, the camera 154,which may be powered on at all times, may continuously monitor motionwithin the field of view 400. The A/V recording and communicationdoorbell 130, however, may not begin recording and/or streaming video tothe user's client device 800 unless and until a moving object enters oneof the intrusion zones 402. The recording and/or streaming may continueuntil the moving object exits the intrusion zone 402 it earlier entered.Further, if the moving object stops moving, but remains in the intrusionzone 402, the recording and/or streaming may continue while the objectremains stationary within the intrusion zone 402. This aspect of thepresent embodiments creates an advantage over systems that rely on othertypes of motion sensors, such as passive IR sensors, that typically onlydetect moving objects, and therefore do not typically record and/orstream stationary objects. The object may, of course, be a person.

Some of the present embodiments may incorporate motion detectionalgorithms and techniques that vary according to the level of ambientlight. Generally, the quality of video recorded during daylight hours isgood enough to detect moving objects of interest while correctlyfiltering out other unnecessary and unwanted moving objects (e.g. treebranches or flags swaying in the wind, sun glare, etc.). At night,however, the A/V recording and communication doorbell 130 turns on theIR light source 156 to increase the incoming light intensity. However,the light intensity level can be affected by other light sources, suchas porchlights, outdoor security lights, streetlights, and headlights ofpassing cars. These light sources are preferably filtered out in orderto reduce false positives (also referred to as false alarms). Thus, toaccurately detect moving objects of interest while correctly filteringout other unnecessary and unwanted moving objects, embodiments of thepresent A/V recording and communication doorbell 130 may use differentmotion detection algorithms during the day versus at night.

For example, as discussed above, the A/V recording and communicationdoorbell 130 may not begin recording and/or streaming video to theuser's client device 800 unless and until a moving object enters one ofthe intrusion zones 402. During periods of low levels of ambient light,however, such as after nightfall, the A/V recording and communicationdoorbell 130 may not begin recording and/or streaming video to theuser's client device 800 unless and until the moving object that entersone of the intrusion zones 402 is a human. In some of the presentembodiments, a process for determining whether a moving object is ahuman compares characteristics of the motion of the moving object with adataset. For example, in each frame, the A/V recording and communicationdoorbell 130 may detect object regions, extract features from thoseobject regions, and then compare those features with trained features inthe dataset. If a comparison score and a confidence level are above apre-defined threshold, then the algorithm returns a positive output(e.g. human) on the detected object region. Thus, for example, duringdaylight hours the A/V recording and communication doorbell 130 maybegin recording and/or streaming video to the user's client device 800as soon as any moving object enters one of the intrusion zones 402, butduring nighttime hours the A/V recording and communication doorbell 130may begin recording and/or streaming video to the user's client device800 only if the moving object that entered one of the intrusion zones402 is a human.

Differentiating between moving humans and moving non-human objectsduring nighttime hours may help to reduce false positives, becausenighttime motion detection can be affected by uneven lightingconditions. For example, at night an A/V recording and communicationdoorbell may interpret a sudden change in ambient light, such as aporchlight being turned on, as motion. These kinds of false positivesare reduced in the present embodiments by limiting recording and/orstreaming video to the user's client device 800 to those instances whena detected object in an intrusion zone 402 is a human.

One example embodiment of a technique for determining whether a detectedobject in an intrusion zone 402 is a human is tracking moving objects bytracking the center of mass of each object, and predicting thetrajectory of the object based on the observed motion of the center ofmass. In some embodiments, the center of mass for an arbitrary shape ofa detected region may be calculated as an average of multiple smallcentroid regions. With a finite number of small centroids, the totalcentroid can be calculated as:

The centroid of a finite set of k points x1, x2, . . . xk, in Rn isC=(x ₁ +x ₂ + . . . +x _(k))/k

Tracking moving objects by tracking the center of mass of each object,and predicting the trajectory of the object based on the observed motionof the center of mass, can advantageously reduce false positives. Forexample, a person moving through the camera 154's field of view 400typically follows a predictable trajectory. If the person is moving in afirst direction at a given instant, the person is likely to be moving inthat same direction in the next instant. By contrast, many objects thatmove within the camera 154's field of view 400 follow very unpredictabletrajectories. For example, a tree branch swaying in the breeze follows asomewhat random trajectory that depends upon which way the wind isblowing at any given moment. Thus, by attempting to predict thetrajectory of the center of mass of an object moving through the camera154's field of view 400, and then determining whether the objectactually follows the predicted trajectory, the present embodiments canmake an educated guess as to whether an object being tracked is anobject of interest, such as a person, or another object, such as a treebranch. With this trajectory analysis, embodiments of the present A/Vrecording and communication doorbell 130 can successfully distinguishobjects of interest from false positives by combining the trajectoryanalysis with detection of other changes in each frame.

Some of the present embodiments provide advantageous night visionalgorithms and techniques for determining when to activate night visionmode and when to deactivate night vision mode. When night vision mode isactivated, the IR light source 156 may be illuminated (turned on), theIR cut filter 158 may be turned off, and the camera 154 may transitionfrom color mode to grayscale mode. Conversely, when night vision mode isdeactivated, the IR light source 156 may be turned off, the IR cutfilter 158 may be turned on, and the camera 154 may transition fromgrayscale mode to color mode.

In one example technique, some embodiments of the present night visionalgorithms may measure the average luminance of the pixels and theaverage standard deviation of the pixels in each frame of video shot bythe camera 154. The average luminance and the average standard deviationmay then be tracked across frames by keeping a running average of eachvalue. If the running averages of both values fall below a first pair ofthreshold values, then the A/V recording and communication doorbell 130may activate night vision mode. Conversely, if the running averages ofboth values rise above a second pair of threshold values, then the A/Vrecording and communication doorbell 130 may deactivate night visionmode. For example, if the running average of the average luminance (AL)falls below a first threshold value (AL1), and the running average ofthe average standard deviation (ASD) falls below a first threshold value(ASD1), then the A/V recording and communication doorbell 130 mayactivate night vision mode. Conversely, if the running average of theaverage luminance (AL) rises above a second threshold value (AL2), andthe running average of the average standard deviation (ASD) rises abovea second threshold value (ASD2), then the A/V recording andcommunication doorbell 130 may deactivate night vision mode. Usingseparate threshold values for activating night vision mode versusdeactivating night vision mode helps to prevent the A/V recording andcommunication doorbell 130 from oscillating between night vision modeand non-night vision mode during periods of fading light, such as dusk,and periods of rising light, such as dawn.

In some embodiments, sudden changes in light conditions may be ignoredwhen tracking the running averages of the average luminance (AL) and theaverage standard deviation (ASD). For example, when night vision mode isactive (e.g. after nightfall), if a porchlight is turned on near the A/Vrecording and communication doorbell 130 the average luminance and theaverage standard deviation in the pixels will suddenly spike. But, it isstill after nightfall and the porchlight may soon be turned off, so itmay be advantageous to keep night vision mode active. Some of thepresent embodiments, therefore, may not factor these sudden changes inthe values AL and ASD into the running averages for those values.

In some embodiments, the proximity of the A/V recording andcommunication doorbell 130 to large objects or structures may affectwhether night vision mode is activated or deactivated. For example, ifthe A/V recording and communication doorbell 130 is located directlyacross from a wall of a structure, a large percentage of the IR lightgenerated by the IR light source 156 may be reflected back toward thecamera 154. This reflected IR light could cause the A/V recording andcommunication doorbell 130 to deactivate night vision mode even underconditions of low ambient light, because the IR light reflected into thecamera 154 increases the average light intensity value. A conventionalnight vision algorithm based on frame intensity level would cause nightvision mode to be deactivates even when the current ambient light levelwas low. Thus, some of the present embodiments may compensate for thissituation by measuring how many pixels in the field of view 400 of thecamera 154 are saturated. Then, by comparing the number of saturatedpixels to a threshold value, the process can determine whether tomaintain the A/V recording and communication doorbell 130 in nightvision mode. For example, if night vision mode is active, and the numberof saturated pixels is above the threshold value, then night vision modemay remain active even when the values of AL and ASD rise above thesecond pair of threshold values (AL2, ASD2).

As described above, the present embodiments advantageously limit thepower consumption of the A/V recording and communication doorbell to anamount that is below the threshold necessary for causing the signalingdevice to sound (except when the front button of the doorbell ispressed). The present A/V recording and communication doorbell can thusbe connected to the existing household AC power supply and the existingsignaling device without causing inadvertent sounding of the signalingdevice.

Several advantages flow from the ability of the present embodiments tobe connected to the existing household AC power supply. For example, thecamera of the present A/V recording and communication doorbell can bepowered on continuously. In a typical battery-powered A/V recording andcommunication doorbell, the camera is powered on only part of the timeso that the battery does not drain too rapidly. The present embodiments,by contrast, do not rely on a battery as a primary (or sole) powersupply, and are thus able to keep the camera powered on continuously.Because the camera is able to be powered on continuously, it can alwaysbe recording, and recorded footage can be continuously stored in arolling buffer or sliding window. In some embodiments, about 10-15seconds of recorded footage can be continuously stored in the rollingbuffer or sliding window. Also because the camera is able to be poweredon continuously, it can be used for motion detection, thus eliminatingany need for a separate motion detection device, such as a passiveinfrared sensor (PIR). Eliminating the PIR simplifies the design of theA/V recording and communication doorbell and enables the doorbell to bemade more compact. Also because the camera is able to be powered oncontinuously, it can be used as a light detector for use in controllingthe current state of the IR cut filter and turning the IR LED on andoff. Using the camera as a light detector eliminates any need for aseparate light detector, thereby further simplifying the design of theA/V recording and communication doorbell and enabling the doorbell to bemade even more compact.

FIG. 25 is a functional block diagram of a client device 800 on whichthe present embodiments may be implemented according to various aspectsof the present disclosure. The user's client device 114 described withreference to FIG. 1 may include some or all of the components and/orfunctionality of the client device 800. The client device 800 maycomprise, for example, a smartphone.

With reference to FIG. 25, the client device 800 includes a processor802, a memory 804, a user interface 806, a communication module 808, anda dataport 810. These components are communicatively coupled together byan interconnect bus 812. The processor 802 may include any processorused in smartphones and/or portable computing devices, such as an ARMprocessor (a processor based on the RISC (reduced instruction setcomputer) architecture developed by Advanced RISC Machines (ARM).). Insome embodiments, the processor 802 may include one or more otherprocessors, such as one or more conventional microprocessors, and/or oneor more supplementary co-processors, such as math co-processors.

The memory 804 may include both operating memory, such as random accessmemory (RAM), as well as data storage, such as read-only memory (ROM),hard drives, flash memory, or any other suitable memory/storage element.The memory 804 may include removable memory elements, such as aCompactFlash card, a MultiMediaCard (MMC), and/or a Secure Digital (SD)card. In some embodiments, the memory 804 may comprise a combination ofmagnetic, optical, and/or semiconductor memory, and may include, forexample, RAM, ROM, flash drive, and/or a hard disk or drive. Theprocessor 802 and the memory 804 each may be, for example, locatedentirely within a single device, or may be connected to each other by acommunication medium, such as a USB port, a serial port cable, a coaxialcable, an Ethernet-type cable, a telephone line, a radio frequencytransceiver, or other similar wireless or wired medium or combination ofthe foregoing. For example, the processor 802 may be connected to thememory 804 via the dataport 810.

The user interface 806 may include any user interface or presentationelements suitable for a smartphone and/or a portable computing device,such as a keypad, a display screen, a touchscreen, a microphone, and aspeaker. The communication module 808 is configured to handlecommunication links between the client device 800 and other, externaldevices or receivers, and to route incoming/outgoing data appropriately.For example, inbound data from the dataport 810 may be routed throughthe communication module 808 before being directed to the processor 802,and outbound data from the processor 802 may be routed through thecommunication module 808 before being directed to the dataport 810. Thecommunication module 808 may include one or more transceiver modulescapable of transmitting and receiving data, and using, for example, oneor more protocols and/or technologies, such as GSM, UMTS (3GSM), IS-95(CDMA one), IS-2000 (CDMA 2000), LTE, FDMA, TDMA, W-CDMA, CDMA, OFDMA,Wi-Fi, WiMAX, or any other protocol and/or technology.

The dataport 810 may be any type of connector used for physicallyinterfacing with a smartphone and/or a portable computing device, suchas a mini-USB port or an IPHONE®/IPOD® 30-pin connector or LIGHTNING®connector. In other embodiments, the dataport 810 may include multiplecommunication channels for simultaneous communication with, for example,other processors, servers, and/or client terminals.

The memory 804 may store instructions for communicating with othersystems, such as a computer. The memory 804 may store, for example, aprogram (e.g., computer program code) adapted to direct the processor802 in accordance with the present embodiments. The instructions alsomay include program elements, such as an operating system. Whileexecution of sequences of instructions in the program causes theprocessor 802 to perform the process steps described herein, hard-wiredcircuitry may be used in place of, or in combination with,software/firmware instructions for implementation of the processes ofthe present embodiments. Thus, the present embodiments are not limitedto any specific combination of hardware and software.

FIG. 26 is a functional block diagram of a general-purpose computingsystem on which the present embodiments may be implemented according tovarious aspects of present disclosure. The computer system 900 mayexecute at least some of the operations described above. The computersystem 900 may be embodied in at least one of a personal computer (alsoreferred to as a desktop computer) 900A, a portable computer (alsoreferred to as a laptop or notebook computer) 900B, and/or a server900C. A server is a computer program and/or a machine that waits forrequests from other machines or software (clients) and responds to them.A server typically processes data. The purpose of a server is to sharedata and/or hardware and/or software resources among clients. Thisarchitecture is called the client-server model. The clients may run onthe same computer or may connect to the server over a network. Examplesof computing servers include database servers, file servers, mailservers, print servers, web servers, game servers, and applicationservers. The term server may be construed broadly to include anycomputerized process that shares a resource to one or more clientprocesses.

The computer system 900 may include at least one processor 910, memory920, at least one storage device 930, and input/output (I/O) devices940. Some or all of the components 910, 920, 930, 940 may beinterconnected via a system bus 950. The processor 910 may be single- ormulti-threaded and may have one or more cores. The processor 910 mayexecute instructions, such as those stored in the memory 920 and/or inthe storage device 930. Information may be received and output using oneor more I/O devices 940.

The memory 920 may store information, and may be a computer-readablemedium, such as volatile or non-volatile memory. The storage device(s)930 may provide storage for the system 900, and may be acomputer-readable medium. In various aspects, the storage device(s) 930may be a flash memory device, a hard disk device, an optical diskdevice, a tape device, or any other type of storage device.

The I/O devices 940 may provide input/output operations for the system900. The I/O devices 940 may include a keyboard, a pointing device,and/or a microphone. The I/O devices 940 may further include a displayunit for displaying graphical user interfaces, a speaker, and/or aprinter. External data may be stored in one or more accessible externaldatabases 960.

The features of the present embodiments described herein may beimplemented in digital electronic circuitry, and/or in computerhardware, firmware, software, and/or in combinations thereof. Featuresof the present embodiments may be implemented in a computer programproduct tangibly embodied in an information carrier, such as amachine-readable storage device, and/or in a propagated signal, forexecution by a programmable processor. Embodiments of the present methodsteps may be performed by a programmable processor executing a programof instructions to perform functions of the described implementations byoperating on input data and generating output.

The features of the present embodiments described herein may beimplemented in one or more computer programs that are executable on aprogrammable system including at least one programmable processorcoupled to receive data and/or instructions from, and to transmit dataand/or instructions to, a data storage system, at least one inputdevice, and at least one output device. A computer program may include aset of instructions that may be used, directly or indirectly, in acomputer to perform a certain activity or bring about a certain result.A computer program may be written in any form of programming language,including compiled or interpreted languages, and it may be deployed inany form, including as a stand-alone program or as a module, component,subroutine, or other unit suitable for use in a computing environment.

Suitable processors for the execution of a program of instructions mayinclude, for example, both general and special purpose processors,and/or the sole processor or one of multiple processors of any kind ofcomputer. Generally, a processor may receive instructions and/or datafrom a read only memory (ROM), or a random access memory (RAM), or both.Such a computer may include a processor for executing instructions andone or more memories for storing instructions and/or data.

Generally, a computer may also include, or be operatively coupled tocommunicate with, one or more mass storage devices for storing datafiles. Such devices include magnetic disks, such as internal hard disksand/or removable disks, magneto-optical disks, and/or optical disks.Storage devices suitable for tangibly embodying computer programinstructions and/or data may include all forms of non-volatile memory,including for example semiconductor memory devices, such as EPROM,EEPROM, and flash memory devices, magnetic disks such as internal harddisks and removable disks, magneto-optical disks, and CD-ROM and DVD-ROMdisks. The processor and the memory may be supplemented by, orincorporated in, one or more ASICs (application-specific integratedcircuits).

To provide for interaction with a user, the features of the presentembodiments may be implemented on a computer having a display device,such as an LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor, for displayinginformation to the user. The computer may further include a keyboard, apointing device, such as a mouse or a trackball, and/or a touchscreen bywhich the user may provide input to the computer.

The features of the present embodiments may be implemented in a computersystem that includes a back-end component, such as a data server, and/orthat includes a middleware component, such as an application server oran Internet server, and/or that includes a front-end component, such asa client computer having a graphical user interface (GUI) and/or anInternet browser, or any combination of these. The components of thesystem may be connected by any form or medium of digital datacommunication, such as a communication network. Examples ofcommunication networks may include, for example, a LAN (local areanetwork), a WAN (wide area network), and/or the computers and networksforming the Internet.

The computer system may include clients and servers. A client and servermay be remote from each other and interact through a network, such asthose described herein. The relationship of client and server may ariseby virtue of computer programs running on the respective computers andhaving a client-server relationship to each other.

The above description presents the best mode contemplated for carryingout the present embodiments, and of the manner and process of practicingthem, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable anyperson skilled in the art to which they pertain to practice theseembodiments. The present embodiments are, however, susceptible tomodifications and alternate constructions from those discussed abovethat are fully equivalent. Consequently, the present invention is notlimited to the particular embodiments disclosed. On the contrary, thepresent invention covers all modifications and alternate constructionscoming within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Forexample, the steps in the processes described herein need not beperformed in the same order as they have been presented, and may beperformed in any order(s). Further, steps that have been presented asbeing performed separately may in alternative embodiments be performedconcurrently. Likewise, steps that have been presented as beingperformed concurrently may in alternative embodiments be performedseparately.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for an audio/video (A/V) doorbellcomprising a camera and a battery, wherein the A/V doorbell is connectedto an external alternating current (AC) power source, the methodcomprising: drawing power from the external AC power source; and whenthe power drawn from the external AC power source reaches a thresholdpower, drawing additional power from the battery of the A/V doorbell;wherein the A/V doorbell continues to draw the power from the externalAC power source while drawing the additional power from the battery ofthe A/V doorbell such that the power drawn from the external AC powersource does not exceed the threshold power.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the battery is a rechargeable battery, wherein the methodfurther comprises using a portion of the power drawn from the externalAC power source to charge the rechargeable battery.
 3. The method ofclaim 2, wherein the portion of power is used to charge the rechargeablebattery when the power drawn from the external AC power source is belowthe threshold power.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the A/V doorbellfurther comprises a button and an electronic switch, and wherein the A/Vdoorbell is connected to a signaling device, the method furthercomprising: detecting that the button of the A/V doorbell has beendepressed; and in response to detecting that the button of the A/Vdoorbell has been depressed, closing the electronic switch of the A/Vdoorbell for a duration of time, thereby causing the A/V doorbell tocease drawing the power from the external AC power source and causingthe signaling device to output sound.
 5. The method of claim 4 furthercomprising, upon an expiration of the duration of time, opening theelectronic switch of the A/V doorbell, thereby causing the A/V doorbellto continue the drawing of the power from the external AC power sourceand causing the signaling device to cease outputting sound.
 6. Themethod of claim 5, wherein the duration of time is a first duration oftime, wherein the method further comprises, upon the expiration of thefirst duration of time, preventing the electronic switch of the A/Vdoorbell from closing again until after a second duration of timeexpires.
 7. The method of claim 4 further comprising, in response todetecting that the button of the A/V doorbell has been depressed,sending a request, via a network, to conduct a call between the A/Vdoorbell and a client device.
 8. The method of claim 7 furthercomprising, upon receiving a notification that the call is answered bythe client device during the duration of time, opening the electronicswitch before an expiration of the duration of time, thereby causing theA/V doorbell to continue the drawing of the power from the external ACpower source and causing the signaling device to cease outputting sound.9. The method of claim 4 further comprising: detecting motion proximateto the A/V doorbell; and in response to the detecting of the motionproximate to the A/V doorbell, sending a request, via a network, toconduct a call between the A/V doorbell and a client device.
 10. Themethod of claim 9, wherein the detecting that the button of the A/Vdoorbell has been depressed is at a first time, and wherein the methodfurther comprises, upon receiving a notification that the call isanswered by the client device at a second time that is before the firsttime, preventing the closing of the electronic switch of the A/Vdoorbell.
 11. An audio/video (A/V) doorbell configured to be connectedto an external alternating current (AC) power source, the A/V doorbellcomprising: a camera; a battery; and a power manager configured to: drawpower from the external AC power source; and when the power drawn fromthe external AC power source reaches a threshold power, draw additionalpower from the battery, while drawing the power from the external ACpower source such that the power drawn from the external AC power sourcedoes not exceed the threshold power.
 12. The A/V doorbell of claim 11,wherein the battery is a rechargeable battery, wherein the power manageris configured to direct a portion of the power drawn from the externalAC power source to charge the rechargeable battery.
 13. The A/V doorbellof claim 12, wherein the power manager is configured to direct theportion of the power drawn from the external AC power source to chargethe rechargeable battery when the power drawn from the external AC powersource is below the threshold power.
 14. The A/V doorbell of claim 11further comprising a button and an electronic switch, wherein when thebutton is depressed the electronic switch is configured to close for aduration of time, thereby causing the power manager to cease the drawingof the power from the external AC power source and causing a signalingdevice, external to the A/V doorbell, to output sound.
 15. The A/Vdoorbell of claim 14, wherein upon an expiration of the duration oftime, the electronic switch is configured to open, thereby causing thepower manager to continue the drawing of the power from the external ACpower source and causing the signaling device to cease outputting sound.16. The A/V doorbell of claim 15, wherein the duration of time is afirst duration of time, wherein upon the expiration of the firstdirection of time, the electronic switch is prevented from closing againuntil after a second duration of time expires.
 17. The A/V doorbell ofclaim 14 further comprising a communication module, wherein when thebutton is depressed the communication module is configured to send arequest, via a network, to conduct a call between the A/V doorbell and aclient device.
 18. The A/V doorbell of claim 17, wherein, upon thecommunication module receiving a notification that the call is answeredby the client device during the duration of time, the electronic switchis configured to open before an expiration of the duration of time,thereby causing the power manager to continue the drawing of the powerfrom the external AC power source and causing the signaling device tocease outputting sound.
 19. The A/V doorbell of claim 14 furthercomprising a motion sensor and a communication module, wherein inresponse to the motion sensor detecting motion proximate to the A/Vdoorbell, the communication module is configured to send a request, viaa network, to conduct a call between the A/V doorbell and a clientdevice.
 20. The A/V doorbell of claim 19, wherein the button isdepressed at a first time, wherein, upon the communication modulereceiving a notification that the call is answered by the client deviceat a second time that is before the first time, the electronic switch isprevented from closing.